SOCIAL STUDIES

ALL HUMANS ARE BORN EQUAL

What are human rights?

Human rights are rights inherent to all human beings, whatever our
nationality, place of residence, sex, national or ethnic origin, colour, religion,
language, or any other status. We are all equally entitled to our human rights
without discrimination. These rights are all interrelated, interdependent and
indivisible.
Universal human rights are often expressed and guaranteed by law, in the
forms of treaties, customary international law, general principles and other
sources of international law. International human rights law lays down
obligations of Governments to act in certain ways or to refrain from certain
acts, in order to promote and protect human rights and fundamental
freedoms of individuals or groups.

Who is a child?
The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child defines child as "a
human being below the age of 18 years unless under the law applicable to
the child, majority is attained earlier".[5] This is ratified by 192 of 194
member countries. Biologically, a child is generally anyone between birth
and puberty or in the developmental stage of childhood, between infancy
and adulthood.[1][2] Some English definitions of the word child include the
fetus (sometimes termed the unborn).[6] In many cultures, a child is
considered an adult after undergoing a rite of passage, which may or may
not correspond to the time of puberty.

The Ten rights of a child

1 All children have the right to what follows, no

matter what their race, colour sex, language,
religion, political or other opinion, or where they
were born or who they were born to.
2 You have the special right to grow up and to
develop physically and spiritually in a healthy and
normal way, free and with dignity.
3 You have a right to a name and to be a member of
a country.
4 You have a right to special care and protection and
to good food, housing and medical services.
5 You have the right to special care if handicapped
in any way.
6 You have the right to love and understanding,
preferably from parents and family, but from the
government where these cannot help.
7 You have the right to go to school for free, to play,
and to have an equal chance to develop yourself
and to learn to be responsible and useful.
Your parents have special responsibilities for your
education and guidance.
8 You have the right always to be among the first to
get help.
9 You have the right to be protected against cruel
acts or exploitation, e.g. you shall not be obliged
to do work which hinders your development both
physically and mentally.
You should not work before a minimum age and
never when that would hinder your health, and
your moral and physical development.
1 You should be taught peace, understanding,
0 tolerance and friendship among all people.

What is human trafficking?

Human trafficking is the trade in humans, most commonly for the purpose of
sexual slavery, forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation for the
trafficker or others;[1][2] or for the extraction of organs or tissues,[3][4] including
surrogacy and ova removal;[5] or for providing a spouse in the context of
forced marriage.[6][7][8] Human trafficking can occur within a country or transnationally. Human trafficking is a crime against the person because of the
violation of the victim's rights of movement through coercion and because of
their commercial exploitation. Human trafficking is the trade in people, and
does not necessarily involve the movement of the person from one place to
another.

Example of human trafficking

Vicky
Vicky F., a young woman from Mexico, came to the United States
with her husband, Jorge. They left their young son back home with
Jorge's mother. Jorge convinced Vicky to work as a prostitute so that
they could save money to build a house back home. He kept all the
money she earned and sent it directly back home to his family. Vicky
was not allowed to keep a dime. He told her that if she did not work
as a prostitute, she would never be allowed to see their son again.
He threatened her with physical abuse and hit her when she
disobeyed him.
Vicky's mother grew suspicious after she did not hear from her
daughter for an extended period and contacted the authorities. She
had a telephone number for Vicky that was traced to an apartment
in Queens. Law enforcement investigated and located Vicky, who
broke down and told them what Jorge was forcing her to do. They
helped Vicky find a place to stay and referred her for counseling.
Vicky cooperated with the prosecution in the case against Jorge. He
received one of the longest sentences for human trafficking to date.
Vicky now has a T visa and has been reunited with her son.

What is child labour?

Child labor is work that harms children or keeps them from attending school.
Around the world and in the U. S., growing gaps between rich and poor in
recent decades have forced millions of young children out of school and into
work. The International Labor Organization estimates that 215 million
children between the ages of 5 and 17 currently work under conditions that
are considered illegal, hazardous, or extremely exploitative. Underage
children work at all sorts of jobs around the world, usually because they and
their families are extremely poor. Large numbers of children work in
commercial agriculture, fishing, manufacturing, mining, and domestic
service. Some children work in illicit activities like the drug trade and
prostitution or other traumatic activities such as serving as soldiers.

Example of Child Labour

Iqbal was only four when he was sold into slavery. He was a child of bondage,
sold by his family
to pay for a debt. Though very small and very weak, he was forced to work at
a carpet factory for
12 hours a day. He was constantly beaten, verbally abused and chained to
his loom for six years.
Severe malnutrition and years of cramped immobility in front of a loom
stunted his growth.
All this changed in 1992, when Iqbal and some of his friends from the carpet
factory stole away to
attend a freedom day celebration organized by a group working to help end
bonded labour. With
their help, Iqbal, too, became free and soon became a well-known critic of
child labour. His
campaign scared many, especially those who used children as bonded
labour. In December 1994,
Iqbal visited the United States to receive a human rights award. Soon after
his return, Iqbal was
killed by a gunman hired by factory owners.

Iqbal was just one of over 250 million child labourers worldwide, but his story
has inspired many
to act for change.

Two issues Jamaican children are affected by

negatively
1. RAPE
MORE than 8,000 cases of child abuse were reported between January and
August this year, according to the Office of the Children's Advocate (OCA)
which also revealed that it is contacted every 30 minutes with an allegation
of ill-treatment.
Sharian Hanson, senior legal policy officer at the OCA, said that the 8,030
cases of abuse ranged from physical, to sexual, to emotional, with neglect
and missing children being high on the list.
Hanson noted that 1,730 children have gone missing during the same period,
with 10 of the missing children found dead. These statistics, she explained,
were from the Office of the Children's Registry.
"It would appear that being a child in these times is indeed a disadvantage,"
Hanson told more the than 500 parents attending the National ParentTeacher Association of Jamaica (NPTAJ) Annual Conference and Expo 2013,
held at Jamaica College in Kingston on Saturday.
"Should childhood not be the complete opposite?" she asked. "Should this
not be a time of utter simplicity, freedom from adult responsibilities and
assured protection from the ills of our society?"
Addressing the theme, 'Parents, care and protect your children, get involved',
Hanson said research has shown that the more involved parents are in a
child's upbringing, the more likely children are to become successful in life.
"The role of the family is essential to the development of children," the
attorney-at-law said. "In fact, society relies on the family to nurture, care for,
and protect the child. A teacher can assist in guiding and reinforcing positive
attitudes within a child, but cannot be the sole source."

Hanson pointed out that parental responsibility is dealt with in the Child Care
and Protection Act, which states that where parents fail to carry out their
duties to the child there are serious penalties.

2. Malnutrition
Malnutrition is a worldwide issue that affects over 178 million children across
the globe and contributes to 3.5 of the 5 million annual deaths among babies
under 5 years old. Sadly, over 80% of the worlds malnourished children live
in only 24 countries. Malnutrition occurs when the body does not receive
enough of the nutrients necessary for survival. When these babies become
malnourished, they are more susceptible to infections and far more likely to
die from common illnesses.
In many developing countries, such as Angola, nourishment and medication
for babies struggling to survive the depths of malnutrition is difficult for
mothers to obtain. Because of this, malnutrition clinics have been working to
make the necessary medication, especially therapeutic formula, readily
available for these unfortunate babies across the country.
These clinics serve as a saving grace for the babies who otherwise have very
little time left, where mothers can bring their babies to be treated for severe
acute malnutrition and the infections and illnesses that coincide with the
disease. One way in which malnutrition and rape can be improved is to
educate the people.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

What are Human Rights?

Who is a Child?

Ten rights of a child

2-3

What is Human Trafficking

Example of Human Trafficking

What is Child Labour?

Example of Child Labour

Two issues that negatively affect

children in Jamaica

6-7

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